The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has received  Rs. 2 crore, as part of federal budgetary support, to meet the establishment and salary expenses of the Data Protection Board in FY25.

The details emerged yesterday after India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman detailed the annual government spendings in her Budget speech.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, of this Rs. 2 crore, Rs. 4 lakh is for capital expenditure, which includes fixed assets such as the digital portal, and Rs. 1.96 crore for revenue expenditure (salaries, etc).

DPB is crucial to operationalising the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, notified in the gazette in August 2023. It will consist of a chairperson and members to be determined by the Central or the federal government.

The HT report also stated that for FY25, the Budget estimate for MeitY increased 52.12 percent to Rs. 21,936.90 crore (BE 2024-25).

Meanwhile, Storyboard18, quoting Meity Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, yesterday reported that the administrative rules, which will govern the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, are likely to be rolled out soon for the public and stakeholder consideration

During a media interaction held around the Union Budget, the Minister said that the process of releasing the DPDP rules is already in the “advanced stage”.